It was announced this weekend that Cody Rhodes will be returning to CW Series Arrow as part of its seventh season, reprising his role as Derek Sampson, a drug dealer behind a drug titled “Stardust,” who in his debut appearance, gained super-powers that included an inability to feel pain as well as super strength. While he has appeared on the series several times before, this season Rhodes will be appearing on several episodes over the course of Arrow’s seventh season on the CW Network.
Arrow star Stephen Amell, who portrays Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow on the series is a lifelong pro wrestling fan who petitioned on social media for a long time to get involved with WWE, noting he would even wrestle if they let him guest-star on Raw. This led to him doing several angles with Rhodes, who at the time was performing as Stardust, leading to a SummerSlam 2015 bout where Amell teamed with Neville to defeat Bad News Barrett and Stardust.
Amell has also made appearances in Ring of Honor through his relationship with Rhodes, joining the Bullet Club and will appear on the 9/1 “All In” event in Chicago.
Rhodes made his first appearance on Arrow in October 2016 after leaving WWE. That episode garnered 1.94 million viewers in its initial airing.
Rhodes’ second appearance aired in May 2017, bringing in 2.64 million for its initial airing.
Arrow is based on DC Comics’ Green Arrow character. The show has been popular enough over the last six years to launch three spin-off series with a fourth spin-off currently being launched later this year.